I'll be home for Christmas
by Errol's Feather
Summary: It's Christmas in New York and Stella is going back to see her Mac and to celebrate Christmas with him and her friends.


_**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY and I don't make any money from it. **_

_**Authors Note: I got the idea from the song by the same name :o)**_

_**I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas :o)**_

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><p><em><strong>I'll be home for Christmas<strong>_

"Stella, will you please calm down," said Lindsay on the phone.

"But Linds, I promised him to get home for Christmas, and I even don't even have enough time to get everything in order," said Stella frustrated, running from store to store.

"Please relax, all he wants is you, no fuzz," said Lindsay in a very calm tone.

"I know, I know, but…" Stella said, dropping her phone, trying to pick out a new suit for Mac. She looked down at the floor in the store; it had broken into a million pieces. She sighed as she picked up what was left of it, thinking that would be another expense, not that she had time to worry about now. She had precisely one hour to get all she needed in order, before getting on the plane to New York.

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><p>"No, no, no, more to the right," Mac instructed Sheldon and Danny that was trying to put up the Christmas tree at the lab.<p>

"I swear if you do not decide soon I'll put the tree wherever fits," said Danny in a warning tone.

"There, right there," said Mac, looking once more, before nodding with satisfactions.

"I got decorations," said Jo, holding up tons of huge boxes, her face red from the cold outside.

"Where did you even get that?" Sheldon wanted to know.

"Well I went around the lab last week saying we were going to decorate so everyone donated a little and I bought the rest," said Jo with a smile.

"You're an angel," said Mac, wondering why he didn't think of that himself.

"I know, so who's ready for decorating this three," she said with a smile.

"If you got the lights for it, we'll put them up," Danny offered.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way," they suddenly heard from the computer lab. Only the sound was louder than usual, meaning Adam had to have put on some extra speakers. Not that Mac minded everything to get into the Christmas spirit.

Pretty soon they were all decorating rather than solving the crimes they usually did. Sheldon was running around spraying fake snow everywhere, Mac figured it would be a pain to get off, but he didn't care. He wanted Stella to come back to a fully Christmas inspired crime lab later that night.

Lindsay and Jo were working with the tree with some help from little Lucy, and Adam and Danny were decorating the labs themselves and the offices around with everything from reindeers to red apples.

He on the other hand was at the moment working on the break room, which now smelled like gingerbread as he was just putting the finishing touches on a gingerbread house, and both Lindsey and Jo had made a various selection of Christmas cookies, the only thing missing was the eggnog he was going to make later.

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><p>Stella yawned as she got off the plane, stretching her neck a little, after falling asleep in the most uncomfortable position. She sighed heavily, most wanting to go home, only she didn't have an apartment in New York anymore, rather than the lab.<p>

Only Mac had told her to come to the lab and that the two of them would go to his place later. 'His place,' she thought. It was more their place after they become a couple about five months back. Maybe that had always been in the cards for them, but being apart had brought them closer together. And this would be their first year as a couple, meaning Stella wanted everything to be perfect. She had even baked some Christmas cookies for the very first time.

She smiled as she got her two heavy suitcases, it would be great to have a long Christmas vacation after the load of work she had had lately. She dragged the couple after her as she walked towards the cabs. She quickly got them and said where she was going.

"The Crime lab at Christmas Miss?" asked the cabbie a bit surprised.

"Yes, all my friends are there and we are celebrating Christmas together," she said with a sigh, closing her eyes to get some rest on her way there. The cabbie just shook his head as he started to drive.

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><p>Stella slowly opened her eyes as the cab parked outside the New York City's crime lab. She yawned and got out and the cabbie helped her with her suitcases. After they settled on the payment he drove off and Stella walked into the tall building to find the nearest elevator.<p>

She looked at the time, close to midnight, wondering if they all were there still considering it was Christmas. As the elevator doors opened she slowly got out and looked around. It was the same old lab she had left about a year earlier only now it was decorated for Christmas for the first time. Everywhere there were Christmas lights instead of the regular that was usually there. There seemed to be fake snow from cans almost everywhere, it smelled like cookies and eggnog from the break room and there seemed to be Christmas songs playing all around the lab.

Stella walked in the direction of the voices, meaning the break room, only to see Mac standing with the back facing the door in one of his finest black suits. He was handing out eggnog to everyone. They all seemed to have being dressing up for the occasion and enjoying themselves with cookies from all around the break room and of course the eggnog.

Stella sat the suitcases on the side of the door, knowing her gifts would have to go under the extreme Christmas tree she had seen on her way in as well. She smiled, walking a little closer saying, "Handsome, may I have a cup of that as well?"

Mac turned in surprise, smiling at her saying, "Of course, my star."

"So you finally decided to celebrate Christmas?" she said, nodding towards the lab as he poured her a cup.

"I felt it was at high time we did something like this yes, do you like it?" he asked, looking at her with sparkling eyes.

"I love it, it was a really nice surprise," she said, taking the cup from him.

"I'm glad, maybe we should do this every year," he said, with a smile.

"That would be a very good idea, as I will always be home for Christmas," she said with a giggle.

"Something I am very thankful for, oh mistletoe," he said, looking above his head.

Stella shook her head, but as she wouldn't argue with tradition she kissed him gently and hold him closely. This would without a doubt be the best Christmas she had every experienced and it was all because of the man she loved and her best friends. At that very moment Stella was overjoyed that she had come to the lab instead of going home, and as the night turned into early morning they were talking over cookies and making jokes just like they had when she was still walking there.

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><p>The only one that actually fell asleep was little Lucy, other than her they stayed up waiting for Christmas to come to them, as the spirit of it was already there.<p>

Stella leaned into her Mac as the clock was showing six in the morning whispering, "Merry Christmas, Mac."

"Merry Christmas, my star," he whispered back, kissing her lips and pulling her closer. She just smiled as she snuggled up more thinking that she was as happy as she could ever be. He on the other hand felt like the luckiest man alive having the company of the woman he loved so dearly on this early Christmas morning. Because as long as she was with him things were as they should be which was why he would later that day after opening presents would ask her to move in with him and considering coming back to the lab.

Her answer would of course be yes, as it was with him she belonged, that was something she knew all along. She might regret leaving him, but she would never regret coming back.

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><p>Feedback always welcome and very much appreciated :o)<p> 


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